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MY HAIR STORY

I wanted to share my hair story with you and hope that it gives some inspiration no matter what your hair type because the secret is being true to you.

My journey to natural hair began long before my “big chop”. I had started experiencing horrible scalp pains from about 2013 and visits to the doctor said it was nothing to worry about and had to just take pain killers to ease the pain. As time progressed I found that wetting my hair on a regular basis actually made my scalp feel so much better, so the pain subsided on those days, but as we know, the regular wetting is not always recommended with relaxed hair.

Then came the shedding . . . My hair started shedding so much that I was afraid to even comb it on a daily basis because I kept seeing sooo much hair falling off. The shedding had brought on stress and depression which in turn caused more shedding. The more I relaxed and treated to try and keep it healthy the worse it got. My hair went from being a thick, lush curtain to a mere limp, lifeless cloth. My final relaxer was on July 5, 2014 and after two weeks the growth started showing and the pain came back and the shedding continued. It was at that point I had decided “ok, that’s it!! No more relaxer, I am gonna go natural”

I started putting the hair in different types of curls and styles including t-shirt curls and twists in an effort to stay away from the heat and relaxer. I would have my sister do twists for me so as not to touch my already sensitive scalp. One day, not sure under what spell, I put in a rubber band and cut off about 4 inches of my hair – boy was that a mistake… at that point I had no idea what to do with the hair or how to comb it.. I kept putting it up in one but knew the pressure was too much for my scalp. Then the idea of cutting came to mind. But how would I go about it, knowing that my husband and the kids so loved my long hair. I thought about cutting for weeks and could not muster the courage to go along with it.

Then finally, while at work on October 7, 2014 something came over me and I just felt like I had enough and said to my co-workers “you know what, I am going to cut my hair today”. They, in much disbelief said “there is no way you are going to cut your hair and we are going to follow you to prove to ourselves that you won’t”. It was the end of the work day and the three of us ventured to Caprice Hair Salon in Roseau. Upon entering we greeted the clerks and I said “I am here to cut my hair please”. One of the clerks shocked at my request asked “cut in what style?” my response was “cut as in . . . all of it”. She looked at me in amazement and said “I am sorry but I can’t, it’s too much to cut off I can’t do it.. are you sure that’s what you want to do??” I said “ofcourse, I am sure Caprice would be happy to cut is he here?” She said he had stepped out but should be back soon. So we waited for his return. He too was shocked at my request when he arrived but obliged and proceeded to cut.

It seemed like the longest time I have ever sat in a chair at the salon. I was soooooo nervous to see all my hair falling that I kept moving my head and frustrating him in the process because he did not want to give me a bad cut… so I sucked it up and stood straight and the hair kept falling…. the more he cut, the more he kept cutting and I was scared not knowing what it was going to look like. My co-workers stood in disbelief as the hair kept falling to the floor. Finally it was done and it was time to look at my new do in the mirror…. WOW.. it was all gone.. my long, silky, beautiful hair was all gone and I was left with but a centimetre of hair running down the middle of my head.

I immediately messaged my husband and said “my hair is cut and it is much shorter than I would have wanted so please prepare yourself”.. we left the hair salon still in amazement that I had actually cut off the hair.. and all of it

I got so many stares walking on the road to meet with my husband and the kids and when I got to them you could hear a pin drop, the silence was deafening. Then my daughter said in excitement “mommy I like it” *phew, sigh of relief*.. And my journey to natural hair had been taken a step further.

It was not until after I had cut off all my hair I found out about the on-going ‘natural hair movement’. And, sad to say, that’s when I found out that the term used for what I did was actually the “big chop”.. LOL. But none the less I always kept true to me and to the needs of my hair not falling prey to all the “science” that was now associated with growing your hair and soooooo many products out there which are “made” to “grow” natural hair… My mom, grandmother and great grandmother always taught me that natural and simple are best. Healthy hair begins with a healthy body and not just the products that we put in. So throughout my journey my staple, holy grail product has been locally made castor oil. I trusted the Palmers olive oil line as my products of choice for washing and styling then later introduced the eco styler gel, Shea Moisture’s coconut and hibiscus curl enhancing smoothie and shea butter cream for curling and styling. And contrary to what “natural hair scientists” believe, petroleum jelly worked well for me. At the beginning of my journey it was the mixture of petroleum jelly and castor oil my hair knew and loved, and still does…

It’s almost a year since my cut and to date I have no regrets. I have recently adopted a few tips in helping to keep my hair moisturised using the LOC method but with my same products I began with. I am a firm believer that if something works there is no need to try something new just because everyone else is doing it. I have learnt that my hair may not always turn out the way I want it to be, but I love it just the way it is… I have embraced it, all of it, and guess what?? my husband and the kids love it too

So to anyone who wants to or decides to take on a journey to natural hair, do it because it’s something you want and not because it’s the “in thing”. I loved my relaxed hair and sometimes still miss it, but my decision was made for a much healthier me, and not just my hair, but my life as a whole.

So if your hair journey takes you to relaxed hair – love it and rock it dearies. If your hair journey takes you to natural hair – love it and rock dearies. No matter what hair type you choose to rock always remember that your true beauty comes from more than just your hair but within you and embracing all of you is the secret to being beautiful and being the best version of yourself that you can be.

10 comments on “MY HAIR STORY”

Joanne, I noted your big change and the bold step. That’s courage! I am natural myself but my issue is simply my thin edges. Continue to share your story. You may have noticed there are more than 60 % of natural-hair ladies in Dominica today; you may be the catalyst or one of the catalysts to let women know that their natural hair is the healthiest. Don’t get me wrong I love relaxed hair but i’m simply adding my 5 cents to the journey.

Great story and beautiful hair. Always follow your gut feeling. One day 10 years ago I decided to just do a big chop. I’ve done 2 thus far and is itching to do a 3rd one very soon.

It’s funny u said that u didn’t know much about the natural hair community until after you did your bc. There’s a wealth of information out there but like I said find one that suits you and stick to it.

I hope you make more natural hair posts. Your hair is really gorgeous.

Thanks, will try to fit in some now and then.. but I really did not know, maybe because I did not have a reason to research about it I never did and I always just thought of doing what my mom did to take care of my hair because it worked. It’s someone who mentioned about the videos and the information after I cut and when I checked it was so much stuff LOL